Education, How Abra Works, News

Abra now supports Ether, Bitcoin and over 50 Fiat Currencies

Today, we’re excited to announce a major upgrade to our Abra app to support investing in ether, the digital currency that powers Ethereum, as well as bitcoin and fiat. We’ve extended the Abra app to hold 3 wallets simultaneously. We believe that this is an industry first for a non-custodial digital currency wallet.

The new release is the first to utilize Abra’s new, advanced multi-signature Bitcoin technology for holding various digital assets in a single wallet.

Why is this a big deal?

First, some context. Bitcoin experts recommend that you store your funds in wallets so that YOU control the funds. But most bitcoin wallets support only bitcoin and don’t support fiat currencies at all. That means having multiple wallets, dealing directly with exchanges, and managing multiple private keys and logins. It can be quite daunting. What’s more, moving cryptocurrencies from the exchanges to your various wallets can be particularly nerve-wracking. If you make a mistake entering your address, your money might be lost forever.

At Abra, we set out to make bitcoin easy to use without sacrificing security or speed. You shouldn’t have to sweat every time you buy, sell, or move bitcoin between apps and services. Instead, we want you to spend your time learning, transacting and investing with confidence.

With Abra you manage your bitcoin, ether and fiat currencies in one place. One app, with one recovery phrase. Simple. Once you have added money to the Abra app, you can quickly and easily exchange it for any other supported currency in the app. No more worrying about copying and pasting addresses between apps or accidentally moving money to the wrong place.

Now this is where it gets really cool: Abra is now able to offer alternative digital currencies like ether — the currency of Ethereum — with some technical magic. How? It’s similar to how some commodity funds have worked for years.

As an example, when you invest your US dollars (or whatever your local currency may be) in gold through a fund, you don’t actually get that gold delivered to your house. Instead, you get exposure to gold price changes without having to own the physical gold. As you know, the price of gold relative to the US dollar fluctuates and gold funds track gold prices. If the value of the gold fund goes up, the amount of gold stays the same but you’ll end up with more dollars if you cash out. If the value of the gold fund goes down, the amount of gold stays the same but you’ll end up with fewer dollars if you cash out. This is accomplished through financial contracts. Because of contracts, you can trade on gold prices without actually physically owning the gold.

Abra is a bitcoin wallet, so our underlying currency is bitcoin. When you use Abra to invest in ether, you’ll still be holding bitcoin, but you’ll have a contract that will give you exposure to the price changes of ether. If the value of ether goes up, you’ll gain more bitcoin. If the value of ether goes down you’ll lose bitcoin. Either way, the amount of ether you’re holding will stay the same.

In this way, Abra enables you to invest in ether without creating a separate wallet, managing separate keys, or figuring out how to buy ether on an exchange. When you’re ready, you can redeem your ether investment for bitcoin or US dollars and then withdraw the proceeds to your bank, or use another supported withdrawal mechanism.

We believe this is the most convenient way to seize new cryptocurrency investment opportunities quickly, easily and securely – all in one place.  Please try it out and let us know what you think.

Join our community and find more people achieving their financial goals through crypto.

Download the Abra app on Android or iOS to begin trading or earning interest on cryptocurrency today!

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About Abra

Established in 2014, Abra is on a mission to create a simple and honest platform that enables millions of cryptocurrency holders to maximize the potential of their assets. Abra enables both individuals and businesses to safely and securely buy, trade, and borrow against cryptocurrencies – all in one place. Abra’s vision is an open, global financial system that is easily accessible to everyone.

Why Abra

Based in the United States, Abra is available in over 150 countries and makes it easy to convert between crypto and a wide variety of local fiat currencies. With over 2MM customers, $7B in transactions processed, and $1.5B in assets under management, Abra continues to grow rapidly. Abra is widely loved and trusted – in April 2022, pymnts.com reviewed and rated Abra amongst the top 5 most popular crypto wallets in the market. Abra is backed by top-tier investors such as American Express Ventures and First Round Capital.

How Abra Protects Your Funds

Abra places clients’ financial objectives and security first. Abra practices a culture of risk management across all levels and functions within the organization.

Abra employs a state-of-the-art enterprise risk management framework that comprises a comprehensive set of policies, procedures, and practices detailing all applicable risk-related objectives and constraints for the entirety of the business. Abra has instituted a complete set of requisite systems and controls that continuously enforce these policies, procedures, and practices to manage all operations, including credit and lending. Abra’s independent Risk Committee comprises experienced compliance, risk, securities, and fraud operations professionals with backgrounds in industries ranging from traditional and digital assets banking, payments, remittance, to fintech.

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